Farmington police announce 3 arrests in connection with October home invasion

Monday

Nov 5, 2012 at 4:13 PMNov 7, 2012 at 12:49 PM

FARMINGTON —The Farmington Police Department announced three new arrests stemming from a home invasion in October on Sycamore Boulevard. The man charged with burglarizing the home and terrorizing an 85-year-old woman was additionally charged with other crimes and arraigned in Rochester Circuit Court on Monday.

By Samantha Allensallen@fosters.com

FARMINGTON —The Farmington Police Department announced three new arrests stemming from a home invasion in October on Sycamore Boulevard. The man charged with burglarizing the home and terrorizing an 85-year-old woman was additionally charged with other crimes and arraigned in Rochester Circuit Court on Monday.

Donald Nisbet, 26, formerly of 77 Bunker St. in Farmington, was originally charged with several counts including burglary and robbery for allegedly entering an elderly victim's home on Oct. 14, reportedly throwing over furniture, telling the woman to stay in her bedroom and stealing her valuables. He was shocked by an electronic Taser by police after resisting arrest on Oct. 15.

Police said Nisbet was additionally charged with two more counts of burglary this week, for allegedly breaking into other houses before his incarceration at the Strafford County House of Corrections. He was also charged with two counts of witness tampering and two counts of stalking, related to earlier charges for contacting the victim in another case. His bail was upgraded from $5,000 cash bail to $10,000 in Rochester Circuit Court following his video arraignment Monday morning.

Following an investigation, police are now charging Gerard Gardner, 22, of 69 Chestnut Hill Road in Rochester, with two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary for his alleged ties to Nisbet and burglaries that reportedly occurred while he was “with Nisbet,” according to a department press release. Gardner has been released on $10,000 personal recognizance bail and will await an arraignment in Rochester Circuit Court on Dec. 4.

Police Chief Kevin Willey said Nisbet's girlfriend Sarah White, 24, of 55 Sycamore Boulevard, along with her mother, Elizabeth, 50, of the same address, have also been charged. Both women were arrested on Wednesday, Oct. 31, for counts of falsifying evidence. Willey said the women knew police were going to conduct a house search of their property and they worked to allegedly destroy evidence related to another incident separate from those listed here. Willey said the investigation into that case is ongoing and could not comment further. Both suspects have been released on personal recognizance bail with an arraignment date set for Nov. 20.

“There were a number of burglaries. The reports were taken by no less than four officers,” he added. “(My officers) collaborated and shared information, conducted interviews and I'm very proud. They put a lot of hard work into this and I think the results are finally beginning to show.”Willey noted the majority of valuables stolen from the 85-year-old victim's home have not been recovered.

“I suspect they've already been disposed of in some manner,” he said. “…Unfortunately, when these crimes occur, beyond the point of people feeling personally violated, more often than not we have a hard time recovering this stuff that is irreplaceable whether it be collectibles, family heirlooms…This is at least one small way where we can at least, what I hope is, start the healing process so to speak, for the victim, by holding somebody accountable for this.”